The Return of the Dark Lord
by KDCampbell
Summary: Tomione. Tom Riddle comes to the future to re-establish his reign as the Dark Lord, Voldemort. As fate would have it, Hermione Granger is taken as his prisoner. But, as she manages to see the beauty within Tom's fractured soul, he finds himself questioning everything he has ever known. Beauty and the Beast retelling.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Once upon a time, there was the Boy-Who-Lived and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

The hero and the villain playing out a tale of magic and darkness, of hate and love. In the end, the great story ended with a victorious leader and a vanquished enemy.

Only, the story didn't stop there.

For the tale was also one of time travel and playing a god amongst mortals. For, if one can control time, they can also control death.

Voldemort would never die as long as he existed in the past.

One year after my best friend, Harry Potter, killed Voldemort and barely escaped with his life, _he_ returned. Only he was younger, more ruthless, and ready to learn from all the mistakes of the other version of him.

Tom Riddle came from the past and quickly struck out with a vengeance, more powerful than ever. Our war-torn world had not yet properly healed, and quickly fell under his control.

That is how this story begins.

Only, this time, it is not Harry's tale to tell.

It is mine, for I am Hermione Granger, and I was taken prisoner by Voldemort six months after he came back. Only, this story does not have a clear villain or hero, for there was beauty in his heart, and I was at first too blind to see it. We all were.

This is the story not of Voldemort, but of Tom Riddle, a man haunted by the demons of his past and a never sated thirst for power. It defies time and all your preconceived notions of good and bad.

For he might have been a monster, and I might have been his victim, but somehow, someway; we fell in love. It challenged everything I knew; and everything he believed.

And that is how, without meaning too, I saved the soul of a man that the world had thought was long lost.

It started with a rose and ended with a promise that I will never forget.


	2. Chapter 1: Captive

**Chapter 1**

I was huddled in the dark corner of whatever dungeon they had me in, my scrapped knees pulled to my chest, my tangled hair covering my face in a frizzy mess. I pulled farther away as Amycus Carrow cackled over me, his pointed face grinning widely as I tried to pull away from his painful blows.

"Aw, the little mudblood doesn't want to play?"

He crouched down, his breath foul as he neared my face. I rose my eyes, fixing him with a defiant glare, regardless of the pain it would cause me.

His smile turned down into a sneer. "Oh, the fun we would have had with you back during our days in Hogwarts. Imagine if she had hung around instead of running off with Potter, sis. She wouldn't have lasted the year!"

I pulled my lips back from my teeth in contempt. It was well known how the Carrows had tortured and warped with their ideas of magical education at Hogwarts during what would have been my final year.

"I think you would have found me to be a challenging student," I replied, my throat raw and dry from the lack of water they had provided me during my imprisonment.

"You little..." Carrow said, pulling his hand back for another strike. I glared at him, unwavering. He had already hit me enough times that I no longer felt the blows.

"Don't let that mudblood talk to you like that!" Alecto Carrow, the sister of my tormentor exclaimed. They had both been locked up in Azkaban after the Wizarding War, however, when _he_ came a year later, they had been freed. The newer Dark Lord now controlled the whole prison, many of my friends now held within its walls.

I knew usually I would be there as well by now, yet for some reason, Voldemort's younger self - Tom Riddle, kept me close, locked up in the basement of the old Scottish castle he had taken residence in.

The castle Ron and I had been watching. The one I had willingly given myself over to save him from his own mistake.

"Leave her, Carrow. The Master doesn't want her dead," said a voice from the wall.

"I wasn't going to kill her, Malfoy," Carrow said with curled up lips, small drips of his spit landing on me as he remained too close to me. "I was just going to have a little fun."

Over Carrow's shoulder, I could see Malfoy pull away from the corner of the cell, his shoulders heavy as he moved towards us He eyed me with cool pale eyes, revulsion making him wrinkle his nose at my filthy appearance.

The hadn't let me have a bath since they had put me down here, so I figured they deserved whatever stench I was giving off.

"I mean it, Carrow. Back off."

Reluctantly, Carrow lowered his raised fist, then pulled away from me, the air feeling lighter as I tilted my head back against the wall. I watched them from where I sat on the ground.

Why was I still here?

Malfoy eyed me up and down, then pursed his lips. How he had risen in the death eater ranks so fast still was an anomaly to me. Both his parents had betrayed Voldemort, leading to Tom Riddle taking their lives when he came from the past. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were both dead, yet, Malfoy now held power over even the likes of the Carrows.

It took someone truly cold hearted to remain loyal to the man that killed his own parents.

"Leave us," Malfoy drawled, waving off the Carrow siblings. Both of them looked at him with raised eyebrows. Apparently, some alone time between myself and Malfoy hadn't been part of the plan.

"What, looking to have some fun, Malfoy?" the male Carrow taunted. "She's a bit dirty, but I suppose that face is still good-looking enough. Twisted little fuck, aren't 'ya."

Malfoy closed his grey eyes slowly, his jaw tensing. I saw his eyebrow twitch, and I wondered if he was contemplating using the Cruciatus curse on his own comrade.

If he was, he thought better of it. "Just go, Carrow."

The Carrow siblings shared a look, the older death eaters eventually obliging and leaving the dungeon with a clank of the heavy iron door which lined one side of my dark cell. They closed it, locking me inside alone with Malfoy.

"You know, for being the brightest witch in our year, you are really a fool, Granger."

I narrowed my eyes, one side of my face swelling from the last punch Carrow had landed on me. "I don't care, Malfoy."

I turned my head away. Carrow could torture me all he wanted physically, however, the game Malfoy was playing threatened to mess with my mind.

"Oh really, so you don't care that without you, all your friends don't even stand a chance?"

I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Malfoy said, moving closer to me as his heavy boots scraping the floor. He crouched down low so his head was level with mine as I watched him from the corner of my eye. "That you made a big mistake. You should have let the weasel pay for his own mistakes. You should never have come here."

I sucked in a breath. "He would have killed him."

Malfoy let out a heavy exhale. "And he'll do even worse to you."

I turned, meeting his silver eyes as they caught on the limited light shining in from the hall outside my cell. "I already figured he'll send me off to Azkaban."

Malfoy was silent a moment, his eyes searching my face. "No, you're not going to Azkaban," he said after a moment.

I straightened. "Why wouldn't he send me there?"

Malfoy's lips curled up on the corner into a cruel smirk. "You are the mudblood friend to Harry Potter, and one of the smartest resources on their side. The Dark Lord plans to keep you close, Granger."

It was hard to keep the shock off my face. I should have known my connection to Harry made me unique, but I had no idea that Voldemort would treat me any differently. Even McGonagall had been captured and sent off to Azkaban. All I had been thinking of at the time was that I stood a chance at living. Ron didn't.

"So, what, he's just going to have me rot away in here?" I said with venom. So be it then, I could handle that. I had too.

This was my world now, and I had to keep fighting. I had to for Ron, and I had to for Harry. They would come for me, eventually.

Malfoy chuckled, placing his palms on his thighs and brushing them off as he stood as if some of the dirt covering me had gotten on him by just coming near me. "Hopefully, that is all. Unfortunately, not even I know all his plans."

Malfoy looked down at me, his hair slicked back severely off his aristocratic face. A scar now ran down through his eyebrow on one side, just missing his eye and falling part way down his cheek. I grinned inwardly, remembering how Harry had given it to him in one of our skirmishes two months ago, the hex he had cast making it so that even when healed, Malfoy was stuck with the scar. However, it did nothing to make him less handsome as he glared at me in the dark dungeon.

I steeled myself, refusing to look away. "What's the point of all this, Malfoy."

He sneered, "be careful mudblood. Right now the Dark Lord wants you alive, for which you should be grateful. Should he change his mind, there are several here that will do a lot worse than Carrow and his fists." His eyes flickered, something indiscernible flashing in them. "I mean it, Granger."

I pressed my lips together, watching him with wary eyes. He sighed, something in his demeanor shifting. A mask sliding for just the briefest of moments. He looked over at the small bowl of water that had been left for me as if I was a dog. He kicked it over, its meager contents sploshing over the sides.

"And, please, for Merlin's sake, try to wash up a bit."

I dropped my eyes to the small amount of water. "That's all I have until tomorrow."

"It wasn't a question, mudblood," Malfoy's eyes flashed.

Glaring at him, anger filling me, I ignored the protests of my dry throat as I snatched the bowl up and let it splash all over me. I lifted my cracked lips over my teeth. "That better? Is that what you want?"

Malfoy was silent. He shook his head and turned to go. "You really should have let the thick idiot face the consequences. He should have known better than to enter the Lord's garden and desecrate his rose bushes."

"I, unlike you, care about people other than myself, Malfoy."

Malfoy's head jerked to the side, his eyes darkening. I saw the mask settle firmly into place as he opened the iron door to my cell. "I know, Granger. But he wasn't worth it."

The door closed behind him with a heavy metallic thud. Unshed tears prickled behind my eyes, as I looked down at my soaked chest, the mud caked on my skin falling in dirty drips down my body. The shirt and jeans I had been wearing were ripped and covered in brown dirt, from the mud the death eaters had thrown at me.

They had laughed, chanting 'mudblood' as they took me down to my cell. I could still remember Ron's wide eyes as he had looked at me before running. Running far away.

I had given him a chance to escape, and he had taken it.

That's what I wanted, I told myself. I wanted him to go.

But, as Iallowed a tear to slide down my face, my lips pressed together to keep in my choking sobs, I couldn't help but wish he had stayed. That he hadn't left me behind, that he had been the stronger one.

But, alas, that fate was now mine.

It was the fate I had chosen.

 _"Here, Hermione, have one of Voldemort's roses. Growing 'round here like damn weeds. Surely, he won't miss just one."_

 _"Ronald! Don't even think of..."_

But it was already too late. I didn't stop him in time.

For, when Ron had picked one of Voldemort's blue roses, in moment's time we had been captured, even though we had only been on the outskirts of his large dark castle. Tom Riddle himself had apparated before us, his wand poised at Ron's head, his eyes red and glowing in his rage. The roses had been some kind of alarm, and Ron, foolish as he was had tripped it as he had jokingly plucked it as a gift for me.

Without thinking, without contemplating the consequences, I had muttered the words that would change my life forever.

 _"Take me instead."_

That was when Riddle had looked at me for the first time, his handsome face turning as he had set his eyes on me. I remember how the anger had turned to curiosity, as the younger version of Voldemort had seen me for the first time.

 _"Who is this?" he had asked, tilting his head towards Malfoy, who lowered his hood as he moved forward to Riddle's side._

 _"Hermione Granger, mudblood, the one I told you about. Was the smartest in our year."_

 _Riddle nodded slowly, looking me up and down._

 _"Very well then, take her," he said motioning for the two masked death eaters beside me to grab me._

 _He lifted his wand from Ron. "Well, go then, don't let this woman's sacrifice be for nothing."_

 _Ron had spared me one glance, his eyes meeting mine as I felt strong arms gripping me on either side. Then he was gone._

And that was how I had ended up the captive of Tom Riddle – Voldemort, the newly reinstated Dark Lord who had traveled through time. He was younger, ruthless, and more powerful than ever.

Eventually, in my anguish, I slipped into fitful slumber. However, sometime later I jerked awake, an indistinguishable noise rousing me to alertness.

I looked around the cell. I was still alone.

Then I looked down. The water bowl had moved and was filled to the brim with fresh water.


	3. Chapter 2: Servitude

**Chapter 2**

"Miss Mudblood, come with me please."

I looked down at the small warped female house elf with a frown. Behind her, there were none of my usual death eater companions. It was unusual to see anything other than Carrows pointed face. Usually, I would be filled with distaste at the unfair use of a house elf, but this time instead I saw a chance.

Maybe...maybe I could find a way out on my own after all.

"Are you all that they have sent today..." I asked, pausing as I waited for her name. I straightened against the wall in the corner where I sat. I moved up onto my knees, wincing at the hard cement ground as I leaned forward to get a better look at the house elf.

She bowed, her sack dress flopping over one shoulder as he pointed nose aimed itself to the floor. "Name is Kippy, Miss Mudblood. Now, please come with me. Kippy's Master has asked me to have Miss washed up and made presentable."

I snorted. Of course, they would send a house elf to do such work. To be quite frank, after what felt like weeks down in this dungeon, my old clothes were nothing but rags on my rapidly thinning body. I was disgusting and dirty.

Even Carrow wouldn't come near me anymore, complaining to my stench.

I can't say I minded.

"That's quite alright, Kippy. I am fine how I am."

Kippy frowned, looking uncomfortable as she rocked side to side on her bare feet, her large eyes looking troubled. Whichever one of the death eaters was her master, I looked forward to unleashing a particularly deforming hex on once I was free. I hated those that took advantage of the house elve's loyal nature.

"It was a direct order from Kippy's master, you see. I'm afraid if Miss will not follow Kippy willingly, Kippy will have to bathe Miss by force. Kippy does not want to have to do that, I'm sure Miss Mudblood understands."

I straightened, my eyes becoming more alert as I looked at Kippy with new eyes. I knew it had been a direct order she couldn't disobey, but if I had been correct I sensed a hint of threat in her voice.

This was no normal house elf.

"Kippy, who exactly is your master?" I asked. I had assumed she was Carrow's, but now I wasn't so sure.

She stood a bit taller, her pointed ears flattening to her head. "Kippy is a loyal servant of the Dark Lord himself, of course. Master Lord wishes for you to be bathed before Kippy takes you to his garden."

My eyes widened, but I didn't move an inch. "I beg your pardon, why would Voldemort wish to see me?"

Kippy looked annoyed, an odd expression on a house elf. It was clear she held herself in a higher regard than most. She sniffed. "It is not Kippy's place to question the Master's demands, Kippy simply does as is asked of her without complaint. Now Miss Mudblood, Kippy really must ask you to get moving. Master Lord is waiting."

I blinked my eyes. So much for trying to convince her to help me escape in exchange for helping her achieve freedom. If there were a house elf more happy with their place in servitude, I hadn't met it. Even Kreacher, Sirius Black's inherited house elf, had a few more misgivings than Kippy seemed too about her position.

I really didn't understand how they could be so happy living the life of servant with no free will. Only a few weeks as a prisoner, and all I could think of was my freedom. It plagued my thoughts, turning into an obsession as I waited for the long hours to pass in my dark cell.

With a deep exhale, I pushed myself up onto underused legs, stumbling forward as I tried to stand. I placed a hand on the wall, trying to steady myself as the world spun around me.

Weeks of little to no activity, poor hydration, and minimal food had started to take its toll on me. Now I was to be paraded in front of the man that had captured me, freshly bathed as if all his neglect as if it had never happened. I didn't expect him to care, but It made me angry nonetheless.

I pressed my eyelids closed. Had I not spent weeks fantasizing about his death, I might have been more nervous to meet the Dark Lord face to face. But I wasn't.

All I felt was numbness around the fiery spark that was my anger. Maybe I wouldn't be able to do anything today, maybe all I could do right now was obey and let them mistreat me. But, one day, I would make them pay. My anger was my fuel, and so far it was all I had to keep going.

Kippy eyed me as I let go of the cool stone wall, standing on my own two feet, the room slowly starting to come back into focus. She sighed and turned, waving the iron doors open as she walked out into the hall. She paused at the bottom of the dark staircase, turning to look at me impatiently.

"Miss Mudblood can walk, or Kippy can float you up the stairs. It is up to you, Miss."

I licked my lips, for the first time not feeling all too empathetic towards a house elf. Carefully I stepped forwards, following her up the stairs.

Even though the bars around me had disappeared, I was not mistaken that I was still very much imprisoned.

As we walked, I was surprised by how dark and uninhabited the old castle was. Part of me had expected groups of death eaters to be lingering about, gathering in the shadows, plotting, laughing, and torturing innocent victims. Instead, all I saw were empty halls and closed, locked doors that were no less welcoming.

"Where is everyone?"

Kippy glanced back at me as she walked primly down the hall ahead of me. "Master likes to be alone, it is usually just Kippy and the Master here."

I furrowed my brows. "Carrow likes to visit me on a near daily basis."

Or, so it felt like. I had little to no clue what time was like down in the dungeon. Though I hadn't seen Malfoy or many of the others since Malfoy and I had talked alone.

"Master Lord has meetings often, and he will allow them to go down to the dungeon for a short time allowing they do not harm Miss Mudblood. The rest of the time Kippy's Master does not like to be bothered."

I looked around with newfound wariness. It was one thing to think there were several death eaters around, but it was quite another to realize the only other wizard in the vicinity was Voldemort himself.

I turned back to Kippy, stumbling slightly over my unsteady feet, the hard uneven hallways digging into them as we walked the desolate halls.

"How did you come to serve your master?" I asked as we entered a dim lavatory. Most of the castle was still as old as the day it was built, however, in the toilet room, some renovations had been done to install a working stand up shower stall, some sinks, and a toilet. Its modernity only helped aid the cold emptiness of the castle, a chill lingering permanently on my skin.

Kippy tutted, eyeing my ripped and ruined clothing. "Kippy will need to grab Miss Mudblood some new clothes, completely unpresentable. No, can't have this, Kippy's master will be very unhappy." I heard her mutter to herself.

After several moments she pursed her thin crooked lips and set her large eyes on mine. "Kippy's family has served the Gaunt name for several centuries. When Kippy's master died, Kippy was lost without her master."

I blinked, it was hard to imagine the previous dark lord with a house elf in his employ, though I realized it made sense since Tom Riddle was from an old pureblood family.

"When young Master came and asked for Kippy to return to his employ, Kippy was very happy to do so," she continued, grabbing at my clothes and pulling at them in an effort to get them off me. I frowned but figured I might as well help her, stepping out of the dirty rags so that I was in only my undergarments.

I nodded slowly, not all to surprised. "So, you were free for a short time?"

"Yes, it was dreadful."

Kippy wrinkled her long nose, eyeing my bruise patterned body, but she made no comment. She waved her hand and the shower started to pour warm jets of water. I eyed it, realizing that even under the unwelcome circumstances, a shower would be quite satisfying.

"Kippy assumes Miss Mudblood can bathe herself?"

I lifted a brow and tried not to let hope enter my mind. If I was mistaken, it sounded like she was going to leave me alone.

"Yes."

She nodded, satisfied. "Well, Kippy will go prepare Miss Mudblood some appropriate clothes, since you have ruined these ones."

I frowned, that was hardly my fault.

"So, you are going to leave me alone in the in the lavatory?"

Kippy turned, her bumpy head facing me as she made her way to the tall wooden door.

"Yes, Kippy will be leaving Miss Mudblood alone to bathe in private, however, Kippy is not unprepared."

I watched with growing energy as she opened and closed the door behind her.

I was alone.

I wasn't in the dungeon.

I stepped forward, feeling the ice-like tile under my bare feet as I walked up to the door. I grabbed the handle but it was locked.

Not yet ready to give up the spark of hope flaring in my chest, I stretched out my fingers. I had tried wandless magic down on the cell at first, but it had been charmed to repel spells.

Maybe, Kippy had forgotten.

But as I whispered _Alohomora_ , I quickly realized that wasn't the case. The door hadn't budged. As a matter of fact, I hadn't felt the spark of magic in my veins at all. They had covered all their bases.

If I was going to free myself, it wouldn't be through means of magic.

For, they had made sure to take that away from me too.

I turned, trying not to panic, as I felt the emptiness within me. I wasn't sure how long it had been. Maybe it was part of what Kippy had done when she said she wasn't unprepared. I could have been five minutes without the ability to perform magic, or it could have been weeks.

I opened the stall door, the warm water already steaming up the glass walls of the shower. I walked in, still in my pulled and torn undergarments, and collapsed to the ground, letting the hot water fall over me.

I closed my eyes and allowed myself a moment to feel everything. I let myself wallow in my own self-pity, and ruminated in my hopelessness.

Then, after a few moments had passed, I opened my eyes, a new determination in my body.

I was Hermione Granger, and I would find a way out of this. I would free myself from the Dark Lord. I would find a way out. I had too.

But first, I had to meet with him alone in his rose garden.


End file.
